Report reveals a struggling society

By Timothy Pratt

Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003 | 8:56 a.m.

A report released Tuesday shows that many people in the Las Vegas Valley are struggling to pay bills, lack health care, are having difficulty keeping their families together and are stressed out. These problems are worse for minorities and women.

The report, titled "Southern Nevada Community Assessment 2003," was put together by the United Way of Southern Nevada and the Nevada Community Foundation. It paints a bleak picture of the valley in its attempt to identify for the first time many of the region's social ills and possible cures.

Researchers who worked on the report said the most surprising finding was the degree to which mental health problems seem to be affecting the people of Southern Nevada. Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents said they suffered from anxiety or depression, according to David Pontecorvo, who worked on the report.

Similarly, mental health services were the primary area studied by the report not being adequately addressed by public policy, Pontecorvo said.

The report was based on telephone and in-person surveys of valley residents as well as a comprehensive analysis of existing studies in the areas examined.

Its findings include:

Though many of its findings have been released in other formats, reactions to the report centered on the impact of seeing such a broad range of issues dealt with in one place.

"We've known about these needs ... (and) everything has been lacking in this community as it continues to grow and we wind up at the bottom of a lot of lists," said Linda Lera-Randle El, director for Straight from the Streets, a nonprofit that works with the homeless.

"It's just stark to see all the dots connected in one place," she said.

Observers in and out of government differed on where the primary responsibility lies in addressing the issues raised by the report.

Darryl Martin, director for Clark County Social Services, said that the private sector has to help more. His agency has seen 24 percent more people pass through its doors in August compared with the same month last year and is struggling to keep pace with the increased demand for services.

"We rely a great deal on nonprofits and can't be all things to all people," Martin said. "The public sector's not going to be able to do it all."

Carlos Brandenburg, who heads the Nevada Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services -- the agency responsible for dealing with the anxiety and depression mentioned by the report -- has seen his budget increase 23 percent for the 2004-2005 period over 2002-2003.

Part of the division's $193 million budget will pay for a new 150-bed hospital in Las Vegas -- but the hospital won't open until 2006.

"Meanwhile, more individuals are seeking access to care ... and there's a waiting list of 90 days for help -- where do you go if you're depressed?" Brandenburg said. Nonprofits can help pick up the slack, he said. Thirty nonprofit organizations in the valley are currently engaged in fund-raising drives aimed at raising a total of $350 million over the next three years, said Stacey Wedding, vice president of donor services and programs for the Nevada Community Foundation.

She hopes the report is useful to those organizations, "to guide (them) in their fund-raising and the services they provide," she said.

But Paul Martin, Southern Nevada director for the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, said the ball rests in the public sector's court when it comes to meeting the needs underlined by the report.

"The private sector can help, but it's not the answer," Brown said. "It's a public policy issue and requires public sector solutions. The reason we're at the bottom of so many lists is that we're stingy when it comes to social safety nets."

That social safety net is needed more by women and minorities, according to the report.

In particular, the valley's fast-growing Hispanic population -- now at 361,000, according to census estimates -- brings with it challenges that public and private agencies are only beginning to address. These include language barriers and illegal immigration status.

"That demographic ran through a lot of the studies we saw and the agencies we talked to," Pontecorvo said.

"It's clear to me this region is really grappling with this ... and is aware of the problem but not sure what to do about it," he said.

Martin, of Clark County Social Services, said women and minorities make up the majority of his clients. "I see this on our lines every day," he said.

The official hopes the report is taken into account come the 2005 Legislature.

"This helps set the stage for what we should looking at ... spending our money on in Southern Nevada," he said.

"These are our needs here and now."